Real estate deal in Fountain Valley turns sour

Fountain Valley Police arrested two men on suspicion of robbing another man at 6:08 p.m. Saturday after a business meeting at Talbert Avenue and Magnolia Street to look at some real estate documents.

One of the suspects and the victim met in a Subway parking lot on Magnolia Street to discuss buying some land north of Orange County.

A second suspect, who the victim did not know, came to the meeting, and there was some kind of altercation while the documents were being reviewed. This suspect allegedly pulled out either a knife or a screwdriver and then took $1,000 in cash from the victim, said Sgt. Ron Varner of Fountain Valley Police.

The two suspects then fled south on the I-405 in a red Toyota Tacoma truck but were pursued by the victim who was on the phone with police.

Three Fountain Valley police cars caught up with the suspects on the I-405 in Costa Mesa, and they exited onto the MacArthur Boulevard off-ramp. The driver agreed to get out of the truck, but the passenger refused, Sgt. Varner said. California Highway Patrol officers arrived on scene to assist and direct traffic.

A police dog was in one of the police cars at the scene, Sgt. Varner said.

"Initially, the passenger was refusing to get out, but once he heard the dog barking he had a change of heart," Sgt. Varner said.

Police would not give the identities of the two men, and both are being held on suspicion of robbery at the Fountain Valley Police Department but have not yet been booked.